Somewhere Over The Rainbow

The Cowardly Lion

     As the group went deeper into the forest, their surroundings only seemed to get scarier. It seemed to get darker, and they could hear birds cawing. It just felt so. . . unsettling. After a short while, Dorothy stopped, causing the others to stop as well.

     "I don't like this forest. It's. . . It's dark and creepy," she said.

"Of course, I don't know, but I think it'll get darker before it gets lighter," Scarecrow said.

Rhianna looked at Tin Man. "Do. . . Do you suppose we'll meet any wild animals?" she asked nervously.

"We might," Tin Man replied.

Scarecrow looked scared at that. "Animals that. . . that eat. . . straw?" he asked, afraid of the thought.

"Some, but mostly lions and tigers and bears," Tin Man told him.

"Lions!" Dorothy and Rhianna cried out.

"And tigers?" Scarecrow questioned.

"And bears!" Tin Man confirmed.

"Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!" Dorothy cried out.

     The group linked arms and continued walking deeper into the forest, going faster with each step they took. "Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my! Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my! Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my! Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!" they chanted.

     But then there was a loud roar that caused them to stop in their tracks, and they were horrified when they saw a lion coming toward them and backed away from it! It got closer and closer, and when it jumped at them, Scarecrow and Tin Man fell back in different directions while Rhianna, Dorothy, and Toto ran to hide behind a tree. The lion growled at them, scaring them, and then stood up, looking tough.

     "Put 'em up! Put 'em up!" he dared. He looked at the trembling Scarecrow and Tin Man. "Which one of you first? I'll fight you both together, if you want. I'll fight you with one paw tied behind my back! I'll fight you standing on one foot! I'll fight you with my eyes closed!" He smirked when he saw the axe in Tin Man's hand and approached him, frightening the poor Tin Man. "Oh, pulling an axe on me, eh?" The lion approached Scarecrow. "Sneaking up on me, eh? Why. . ."

     "Here, here. Go away and let us alone," Tin Man told him.

     "Oh, scared, huh? Afraid, huh? How long can you stay fresh in that can?" the lion mocked, laughing. "Come on, get up and fight, you shivering junkyard." He looked at Scarecrow. "Put your hands up, you lopsided bag of hay!"

     "Now that's getting personal, lion," Scarecrow said nervously.

     "Yes, get up and teach him a lesson," Tin Man said.

     "Well, what's wrong with you teaching him?" Scarecrow asked.

     "W-w-well, I hardly know him," Tin Man answered, using a very poor excuse not to fight the mean cat.

     Toto came out of hiding and barked at the lion.

     "Well, I'll get you anyway, peewee," the lion growled at him.

     Toto ran back to hiding as the lion chased him. Dorothy was quick to grab Toto, and she and Rhianna ran to join Scarecrow and Tin Man. Before the lion could attack them, Dorothy slapped him on the nose, causing the lion to cry. Wait, he was crying? Just one second ago, he was all tough and mean.

     "Shame on you!" Dorothy scolded him.

     "What did you do that for? I didn't bite him," the lion sobbed.

     "No, but you tried to," Dorothy responded. "It's bad enough picking on a straw man, but when you go around picking on poor little dogs. . ."

     "Well, you didn't have to go and hit me, did you?" the cowardly lion cried, and felt his nose. "Is my nose bleeding?"

     "Well, of course not," Dorothy replied. She watched as the cowardly lion used his tail to wipe his eyes. "My goodness, what a fuss you're making! Well, naturally, when you go around picking on things weaker than you are. . . Why, you're nothing but a great big coward!"

     "You're right, I am a coward!" the cowardly lion agreed, not bothering to defend himself. "I haven't any courage at all. I even scare myself! Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven't slept in weeks."

     "Why don't you try counting sheep?" Tin Man suggested.

     "That doesn't do any good. I'm afraid of them," the cowardly lion replied, his answer surprising Tin Man.

     "Oh, that's too bad," Scarecrow replied. He tapped on Dorothy's and Rhianna's shoulders, and they looked at him. "Don't you think the Wizard could help him too?"

     "I don't see why not," Rhianna replied. She smiled softly at the cowardly lion. "Why don't you come along with us. We're on our way to see the Wizard now." She pointed at Tin Man. "To get him a heart."

     "And him a brain," Tin Man added, gesturing to Scarecrow with his axe.

     "I'm sure he could give you some courage," Rhianna told the cowardly lion.

     "Well, wouldn't you feel degraded to be seen in the company of a cowardly lion? I would," the cowardly lion sobbed.

     "No, of course not," Dorothy replied.

     "Gee, that's-that's awfully nice of you. My life has been simply unbearable," the cowardly lion told her.

     Dorothy took out her handkerchief and used it to wipe away the cowardly lion's tears. "Well, it's all right now. The Wizard'll fix everything," she said.

     "It's been in me so long. I just gotta tell you how I feel," the cowardly lion said, his sobs subsiding.

     "Well, come on!" Rhianna encouraged him, and they all began walking down the yellow brick road.

"Yeah, it's sad, believe me, missy,
When you're born to be a sissy
Without the vim and verve.
But I could show my prowess—
Be a lion, not a mouse—
If I only had the nerve.
I'm afraid there's no denyin'
I'm just a dandy lion—
A fate I don't deserve.
I'd be brave as a blizzard."

"I'd be gentle as a lizard."

"I'd be clever as a gizzard."

"If the Wizard is a wizard
Who will serve."

"Then I'm sure to get a brain."

"A heart."

"A home."

"The nerve!"

The group linked arms, ready to continue their journey.

"Oh, we're off to see the Wizard,
The wonderful Wizard of Oz!
We hear he is a whiz of a wiz,
If ever a wiz there was!
If ever, oh, ever a wiz there was,
The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because,
Because, because,
Because of the wonderful things he does!
We're off to see the Wizard,
The wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

     Rhianna, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Toto continued to follow the yellow brick road, the six of them completely unaware that they were being watched from afar.